Spring Adventures
by RedFantasies
Summary: After Fairy Tail's victory against Tartaros, Makarov decides to let Natsu and Co. stay at one of his mansions in the mountains. The usual antics ensue and under the threat of being punished there can be absolutely no property damage. That's sure to go well. Rated T for language.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey so this is a series of oneshots that take place after the fight against Tartaros. There's going to be Nalu of course and maybe some other ships. Since it's summer I'm hoping to have more time to write. I hope you guys enjoy! Your comments give me life.**

"Are you sure we should be doing this?" Lucy asked as Natsu, Evelyn, Erza, Gray, Gajeel, and Wendy were in a van traveling up to a forest to the north of Magnolia. "We just defeated Tartaros, shouldn't we still be in the city making sure no one else attacks?"

"Even if that does happen the others have it under control. A major player won't make a move for a while; they're all too busy regrouping and trying to reestablish themselves since Tartaros was annihilated," Gray explained and Lucy nodded.

It had been a week since Tartaros was defeated and everyone had, more or less, recovered. Several people were still bandaged but Porlyusica declared herself on vacation and she had said if they hurt themselves then she couldn't be held accountable nor would she heal them if the re-opening of their injuries were through their own actions. Now the group of seven were driving up to one of the mansions Makarov owned in the same mountain range as Mount Hakobe. The old man had contacted Natsu several days prior and congratulated them on their victory and told them that the house was at their disposal. There had been a very clear threat that any damage was going to be paid for out of pocket, accidental or not. Natsu had recoiled and sworn repeatedly that they would be careful lest they play what everyone referred to as 'the punishment game'. Lucy didn't know what the game actually was but based off of everyone's reactions it was more entertaining for Makarov than for anyone who actually had to participate.

Lucy cast a look around the car that was driving to the mountain. Wendy was talking excitedly to Evelyn and Erza about something. Evelyn was giggling and Erza was smiling as she leaned her head on the headrest behind her. Gajeel was changing the car music while sneaking not-so-subtle glares at Natsu every time his cousin would change the music back. Surprisingly Erza hadn't yelled at them for it yet, but Lucy could tell it was getting under her skin. Lucy's head was resting on the window as she listened to Natsu talking about his experiences camping with Igneel. Lily, Happy, and Charle were all sitting at one end of the car talking to each other. Happy was fantasizing about fishing in the stream that was near the house.

"Most of the time when I was younger we would just set up a tent in the backyard and we pretended we were in a forest." Natsu smiled fondly at the memories. "Sometimes he would pretend that he was a monster and I had to fight him off." Lucy's eyebrow quirked and Natsu laughed. "It wasn't anything threatening. Well, most of the time." He added the last part for dramatic effect and Lucy shook her head, a laugh bubbling out of her throat. "Did you do anything fun with your parents?" As soon as the words were out of his mouth he tensed and prepared to apologize. Lucy waved his apologies away.

"Before my mom died we would set out blankets in the gardens and we would roast marshmallows while we stargazed." Lucy's eyes lit up. "Can we stargaze on this trip? I haven't in a while." Natsu grinned at her enthusiasm and nodded.

"Whatever you want Luce. This is your first time camping so I have to make it amazing for you." Gajeel snickered and Natsu shot him a glare. "Say something, I dare you!" Gajeel just smirked and changed the music back to smooth jazz. Natsu reached for the controls but that was when Erza snapped.

"The next person who changes the music gets to ride on the roof."

"That doesn't sound terrible," Natsu said. "I wouldn't mind." As if to test Erza's patience he reached for the controls.

"That's it. Get on the roof!" Natsu roared with laughter and strapped himself into a seat belt. Natsu had said that the cars were controlled so safely that they practically weren't needed anymore but Erza was a stickler for things like that. The fact that Natsu had not put it on before was evidence that he planned to get under her skin somehow. Natsu laughed again when Erza sat back down with a huff. "If you hadn't been wearing a seat belt you'd be dead." Almost everyone else in the car was smothering their laughter.

"When will we be there?" Evelyn asked and Natsu glanced at the console at the front of the car.

"In an hour or so." This time he actually did change the music. It was Lucy who finally intervened. She put on pop music and sat back with a smirk.

"Don't touch the music anymore. If I hear one more jazz or metal song I will actually go crazy."

"Sorry Luce." Natsu put his head on her shoulder. Lucy rolled her eyes and relatively ignored him but a small smile was on her lips.

"Praise God!" Natsu yelled when the car finally arrived at the house. He fell to the ground and made a big show of pretending to kiss it.

"You had your motion sickness medicine with you!" Charle pointed out as she hovered next to him.

"Don't matter, I hate vehicles." Lucy smiled at the antics and looked at the house in front of her. Like all of the other Fairy Tail houses that she had seen, it was gorgeous. Steel and glass rose in front of them, allowing her to see the sleek and modern furniture inside.

"We all have to scan our eyes to get in," Erza said as she gestured toward the gate that guarded the staircase leading up to the front door. Gray heaved a sigh and looked jealously at the Exceeds who floated over and Happy gave Gray a smug grin.

"Wipe that expression off your face, fleabug," he snarled. Natsu punched him.

"Don't talk to him like that."

"If we go inside any point today that would be great," Gajeel interrupted and Natsu let the laser scan his eyes. They all proceeded to follow suit and Evelyn grinned when she stepped inside.

"I never thought I would be here again," she murmured and Lucy laid a hand on her shoulder. Natsu's little sister looked up at her, the joy in her eyes obvious. The walls inside were painted a cool gray, the dark wood floors contrasting nicely. Lucy eyed the axe that was resting near the fireplace suspiciously. If the axe hadn't been there, Lucy thought that the room was amazing. The two couches that were separated by two small wood tables and the stools had white cushions. The wall the fireplace was inlaid in was a dark charcoal gray. A simple wood table was to the right of the stools and couches with 10 white chairs surrounding it. White curtains were pulled to the side, allowing sunlight to stream through the window. A balcony had another table and more plush, white chairs. The snowcapped peak of Mount Hakobe was visible in the distance while a stream twined its way through the property. That must have been the stream that Happy had been gushing about in the car.

"Could anybody tell me why there's an axe?" Lucy asked.

"Technically the fire is electric but we prefer chopping wood and bringing it back. The scent is nicer when the wood is real," Wendy explained and Lucy narrowed her eyes.

"Do the boys," she gestured to Natsu, Gajeel, and Gray were already glaring at each other, "go and chop the wood?"

"Normally I accompany them so they don't end up dead," Erza answered as the door shut with a click behind her. She turned on the three who looked about ready to rip each other's throats out. "If there is any misbehaving from any of you for any reason, you're dead." They gulped and nodded their heads so fast Lucy was concerned their necks would break off. Natsu immediately kicked his shoes off and left them by the door. The other boys followed suit, leaving them scattered over the hall. As Lucy walked into the sitting room in front of them she noticed that the kitchen was in the same area.

"Think there are enough chairs and tables?" she asked.

"We can have Sting and Rogue up here for a day or two. Gramps, likes to use this house for entertaining although he never really leaves his own house anymore," Natsu said. "Come on, the rest of the house is just as beautiful. And we need to get firewood so we can have a fire and roast marshmallows and stuff later tonight." His enthusiasm was contagious. It had been somewhat warm on the drive up but Lucy assumed that it got cooler at night like it tended to do in the mountains. Natsu grabbed her hand. "You have to see the backyard!" He dragged her through the house. When he threw the door open Lucy took everything in. Several wide stone tiered stairs led down to a dark blue pool. The stairs ended at a stone platform that was over the pool that had a grill. A breeze whispered through the grass and trees. Lucy tilted her head back, letting the sun warm her skin while wind caused her hair to flutter.

"Do you like it?" Natsu asked. He was grinning and Lucy replied with one.

"It's beautiful. Do you guys come here often?"

"Sometimes we come in the winter but we have another house on another mountain with a ski resort. Gramps owns it so people are almost always there but we get the largest chateau. We tend to come here in the spring and summer for the hiking and rivers." Just as quickly, Natsu grabbed her hand again and dragged her back inside. "We need to pick out bedrooms." As they went up the stairs, Natsu stuck his head into what Lucy assumed was the largest bedroom and groaned. "Erza's already claimed it," he whined. Lucy poked her head in as well, seeing that their redhead friend had her large suitcase opened on the floor. The wall opposite the door was entirely glass, the wall to the right made of a light wood with a small fireplace at the bottom and a flatscreen TV above it. White sheets covered the bed, a white leather headboard pressed against the left wall. Two dark wood night tables flanked the bed, white marble lamps shining softly on them. Natsu must have heard something because he grabbed Lucy's hand again and dragged her away.

"She almost caught us looking," he hissed. "I don't want to die young." Lucy sighed and they made their way through the different bedrooms. Gray had claimed one as well, laughing as Natsu scowled at him. Evelyn had already draped herself over a white leather chair in one bedroom leafing through a book. She grinned as Natsu whined. The next one they came to thankfully was empty. Golden stars were on the wall above the bed, arranged in the shape of the big dipper. A plush leather chair was in the corner next to the large window and next to the gas fireplace that was set close to the floor with a flatscreen TV above it. All of the blankets were white, and they looked like fancy hotel blankets. Two grayish wood night tables were on either side of the bed and gold lamps with white shades were on them. Lucy strolled in and sat down on the bed.

"This is my room."

"Lucy," Natsu whined. Lucy reclined on the bed as Natsu wandered out sullenly and padded down the hallway. "Fuck you Gajeel! You took the bedroom I liked!" Lucy chuckled as Natsu's yell echoed down the hallway.

"Shut up Natsu!" Evelyn shouted and Gray laughed.

"If you two don't stop yelling, you're sleeping outside." Erza said. Lucy laughed.

"We're going to sleep outside anyway because Luce has to properly camp at least once before we go back," Natsu replied.

The next couple of hours had passed quietly. Lucy had curled up on the bed and started reading a book that she had brought with her. Lucy didn't hear anyone so she assumed that everyone was sleeping or doing their own thing. Pulled out of her thoughts by nothing in particular, she stared out the window. The sky was still blue and the green that surrounded them was beautiful. If she listened enough she could hear the stream that ran next to the mansion. Birds were chirping in trees that were beginning to grow leaves. She smiled at the sight. Lucy tapped the night table and a holographic display popped up with the time. It was a little past five when she heard Evelyn speak through the intercom that apparently existed.

"What are we doing for dinner? I'm hungry." Lucy stifled a laugh. Despite everything she had been through, Evelyn still managed to sound so innocent and child-like. The whine in her voice was obvious and Lucy found it endearing.

"I can cook something," Wendy suggested but Natsu piped up.

"Let's roast marshmallows and have s'mores for dinner!"

"What are you, an idiot? You can't have s'mores for dinner." Gray argued back but Erza interrupted, surprisingly taking Natsu's side.

"S'mores sounds like an excellent idea Natsu!"

"Really?" The same child-like attitude was evident in his voice as it had been in Evelyn's. "I can set up the fire." She heard Natsu open the door and he leaned against the wall. "Come with me outside and I can show you how to light fires like a pro."

"Don't use the torches again, Natsu," Gray called as they passed his room. Lucy shot him a questioning glance.

"Torches?"

"You know, the wooden things you put in the ground and light up?"

"I know that, what did you do?"

"Oh," Natsu's face lit up, "I set the entire thing on fire and used it for firewood. Erza wasn't too happy and I had to replace it. I also singed the grass and almost caught a tree on fire." Lucy laughed as she and Natsu made their way to the amazing backyard, making a stop to pick up the axe that was by the fireplace. A firepit was elevated in the center of the platform that extended over part of the pool. Wooden benches with comfortable-looking orange and white cushions softened them. The platform was covered by umbrellas of the same color. Lucy sat down on one of the benches, Happy nestled in her lap. She watched with amusement and slight concern equally as she watched Natsu chop branches off of trees After he had a large amount, he cut all of them in half and dumped them in the firepit.

"I forgot the gasoline!" Lucy raised an eyebrow as he raced back up the stairs to go inside.

"This is how he normally sets up fires," Happy sighed and shook his head. "Sometimes he uses his blowtorch. One time he used a Molotov cocktail. Gramps wasn't happy."

"I can imagine," Lucy replied drily as Natsu came back with a red, plastic container. He unscrewed the lid and dumped an excessive amount on the firewood. "Natsu is that much really necessary?"

He looked offended at her question. "Luce, I've been making fires since I was a child. I know what I'm doing." That wasn't reassuring to her but she kept silent. He brought a box of matches out of his pocket and threw one in the fire. Heat rolled away from the fire in waves, the flames dancing and crackling in a threatening way. Natsu appeared to be transfixed, a giddy grin on his face. "Isn't it beautiful?"

Lucy supposed in a way it was. The blues, oranges, reds, and golds were intertwining together and the heat grew less intense and more comforting. Smoke curled into the air, carrying with it the comforting aroma of a warm fire on a winter's night. It did lessen the cool air and slight breeze. "Yeah, it is."

"I'm going to get the others. See you soon!" And just like that he was off again.

"I have a bad feeling," Happy muttered and watched the backdoor expectantly. "Natsu's going to do something stupid. I can feel it." Lucy laughed and scratched behind his ears, laughing when he started purring. As they waited, Happy started regaling Lucy with tales of when he had gone fishing with the others. He was drooling over talking about how eating salmon raw was better than eating it cooked when he was interrupted with a large whoop.

All they saw was a flash of pink hair leaping down the stone stairs before running off of the second tier of stairs from the bottom. He landed in the water, but he barely missed hitting his head on the wall. Evelyn grinned and followed suit, crashing into her older brother as he resurfaced. His pink hair had darkened due to the water but his smile was radiant. "Evie I told you not to do that, it's dangerous."

"You did it, and you're less cautious than I am," was her retort. Gajeel, Gray, Erza and Wendy walked down the stairs like normal people. Lucy saw Wendy held a large bag of marshmallows and Erza carried the sticks.

"If the three of you get in a fight with these again," she began casting an annoyed glance at Gray, Gajeel, and Natsu, "you will get thrown into the pool from the stairs with no regard if you get a concussion or not. Do I make myself clear?" The boys gulped and nodded quickly with many reassurances that that would not happen again.

"It was two summers ago," Gray told Lucy as the bag of marshmallows got passed around. "Natsu had said that he was going to roast his marshmallows first since he made the fire, so he should get to use it first."

"I should have," Natsu grumbled.

"So we figured the only way to settle it was to fight it out. The person who landed five hits on another person won. Gajeel won and Natsu got to go second."

"The redhead wasn't happy when she found out what we did," Gajeel said.

"I don't blame her. You should have acted more your age," Charle chastised and Wendy patted her Exceed's head.

"When did they ever act their age?" she giggled and Charle sighed with resignation.

"You're right but it's embarrassing." It was peaceful as everyone started roasting the marshmallows they had.

"Lucy have you made s'mores before?" Erza asked and when Lucy shook her head Erza looked horrified. "Lily go get the graham crackers and Gajeel can get the chocolate. We have to make her eat s'mores."

"Why do we have to go?" Lily asked and was met with an icy stare from Erza.

"Is there a problem with that?" The black Exceed shook his head rapidly as he and Gajeel trudged up the stairs.

"Hurry it up Metalhead!" Natsu yelled and Gajeel flipped him off. "So s'mores are simple. You have two pieces of graham cracker with a piece of chocolate and a marshmallow in between them. You'll love them."

And she did. The group spent hours eating s'mores until their stomachs hurt, laughing and telling stories. The hilarity mounted when Natsu 'accidentally' pushed Lucy into the pool. He stopped laughing when Gray pushed him in too.

"You're fucking dead Fullbuster!"

The stars were shining above them when most of the group decided to go back in. Lucy had laid down in the grass, looking up at the stars and tracing constellations with her finger. Natsu was sitting next to her, picking at grass. Not for the first time, he enjoyed just sitting next to her and watching her eyes gleam with happiness. When tears formed in her eyes, he got concerned.

"Everything ok Lucy?" Lucy nodded and pushed herself up. She rested her head on his shoulder and sighed contentedly.

"Thank you. For everything." Natsu just smiled and leaned his head against her.

"You're welcome."

 **So yeah, I'm having fun writing this so far and I can't wait to see where the story goes** **because I don't have most of it planned.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys! Writing this series is fun. If you have anything outdoorsy you want to see you can suggest it. I'd love to hear what ideas you have.**

Waking up to people screaming in the morning was not ideal. The fact that she was on the second floor made it even less bearable. "Can you two morons shut the fuck up?" Evelyn asked through the intercom system. "Some of us _want_ to sleep in."

"Don't blame me!" Natsu. Of course. Who else could it possibly be? "Gray's the one who started it. I was just cooking bacon and then he came in and screwed it all up!"

"Nobody wants to eat burnt bacon idiot," Gray argued and Natsu growled in response.

"Can the two of you continue this _off_ the intercoms?" Lucy asked, annoyed that her sleep had been interrupted for this. "I'm with Evie on this. Some of us want to sleep, and don't you dare wake up Erza." The intercom went silent and if Lucy had to guess, they had taken that threat seriously. If there was anything she had learned it was that if you threatened Natsu and Gray with Erza they would behave, even if Erza's reaction was unlikely. Their fear of her was so deeply embedded in them that sometimes Lucy was thankful for it. She curled up again under her blankets and drifted back off to sleep.

She woke up when the smell of food wafted into her room. There was a soft knock on the door. "Come in," she yawned. Natsu had a grin on his face and put a plate with bacon, eggs, and a waffle on one of the nightstands.

"I didn't know what you wanted to drink. Evie wanted hot chocolate, what do you want?"

"Hot chocolate sounds good." Lucy yawned again. "Who won the argument earlier this morning?" She tapped the nightstand to bring up the holographic clock and saw that it was almost 11.

"Gray let me keep a few strips of burnt bacon for Evie and me, be he threw the rest out." Natsu shook his head in mock disappointment, "a total waste of good bacon." Lucy laughed.

"Go get the hot chocolate. Also what are we doing today?" Natsu smirked.

"Can't tell you, but wear a swimsuit!" And with that he was gone.

They were all in the car again, going to a location everyone else knew but Lucy was in the dark. "Lucy, have you ever seen a waterfall before?" Wendy asked from where she was playing a game with Evie on a tablet. Lucy shook her head.

"No, I haven't. I've always wanted to though." She visibly brightened. "Is that where we're going?" Nobody answered. Instead Gajeel turned to Gray.

"If you start skinnydipping I'm knocking you out." The threat wasn't disguised, and it sounded more like a promise.

"Has that happened before?" Natsu roared with laughter.

"Gajeel pushed him off of the waterfall a few years ago," he said gleefully.

"You gave him a concussion," Lily added, looking proud of his owner.

"And we caught fish!" Charle and Lily sighed at Happy's exclamation. "It's ok Lucy, if you start drowning I can save you." Lucy didn't know if he believed that she couldn't swim and he would actually save her or if he was mocking her.

"I'm taking that to mean that you're concerned about me and you want to save me," Lucy replied. Natsu tilted his head back and laughed.

"We will save you, just as soon as we're done laughing. Or you stop breathing. Whichever comes first." The reassurance didn't help her. "The water's going to be cold by the way." Thankfully they had brought the hot chocolate maker with them in addition to towels, blankets, and food. Lots and lots of food. The scenery around them was tranquil. Snow was still scattered over tree branches and the ground. Trees were turning green again and clumps of wildflowers were starting to bloom on the side of the road. There was a gravel space that the car stopped in.

"It's a bit of a walk, but it's pretty easy," Erza told Lucy but that wasn't reassuring. Erza saying something was easy was irrelevant most of the time. Something easy for her could easily be difficult for anyone less insane. Evelyn seemed to see Lucy didn't believe her and she nodded in confirmation.

"It's really not that bad. It's a bit of a walk uphill but it's pretty nice." Every couple of steps they had to stop and shake gravel out of their shoes. Between the cool weather and the shade the trees provided made Lucy shiver slightly. As they got closer the sound of rushing water became louder until it was almost deafening.

"There are two ways down," Natsu said. "You can jump or you can climb down. Wendy and Evie are climbing down to put our stuff on the ground. Smooth rocks surrounded the edge of the pool. Low enough to dip their feet in, but not so low that water was splashing over them. From Lucy's perspective, the stones seemed relatively dry. "See you guys down there." Natsu gave a mock solute before running off and jumping with a shout. When he surfaced from the water he shook his head and laughed, the sound bouncing off of the rocks surrounding them. Gray laughed and followed suit. Gajeel shook his head and muttered "childish" but he jumped off anyway.

"Be careful on your way down," Erza said before leaping off. The Exceeds accompanied them, ready to catch them if any of them were to fall. Lucy was right, the stones were dry and even better, they were warm from the sun that was shining into the clearing where the pool was. Lucy stretched out across it contentedly and sighed in relief.

"Come on Lucy, we're going up to jump off. Come with us!" Evelyn said. Lucy sat up and eyed the top of the rocks where the boys were already back up and jumping off again. She noted with amusement that Natsu had pushed Gray off, yelling something about throwing away perfectly good bacon. He howled with laughter as Gray flailed in the air, his yells silenced by the water. He came up spluttering and yelling threats at Natsu who was bent over laughing. Natsu noticed Lucy staring and gestured for her to come up, a wide grin on his face. Evelyn was already leaping up the stone stairs to where her brother was. Wendy turned towards her.

"I'll jump off with you. I don't like jumping off that much either, but for a few seconds it feels like you're falling." Wendy held out her hand and Lucy smiled at the younger girl as she took it.

"I'll try it." Yells bounced off the walls as Evelyn and Erza jumped off together. Natsu was relaxing, sitting on the ground and letting his legs hang over the side. He beamed as Lucy and Wendy reached the top.

"You're going to jump?" Lucy nodded, her heart racing in her chest. Natsu placed a hand on her shoulder. "Just breathe, it'll be faster than you think. You don't have to do it anymore after this, just try it once." Natsu looked at Wendy. "We can all jump together." Smiling slightly, Lucy nodded taking the hand Natsu had extended. He counted to three and they all took a jump. Lucy screamed and closed her eyes. The three of them plummeted into the water. Lucy came up gasping for breath, as did Wendy. Natsu came up more relaxed, looking completely at peace with what had happened. But Lucy supposed he had done it several times before. She saw Natsu was already swimming back toward the ledge where he could climb out.

"Come on Luce! It's better the second time I promise." Lucy sighed and got out of the water again, shivering slightly.

"I hate you Natsu," she grumbled as she made the climb again. When she saw that he was standing farther away from the edge she stopped. "I'm not running."

"It's more fun this way, I promise." His smile faded slightly. "We don't have to do this if you don't want to." Lucy shook her head, sending water drops flying everywhere.

"No, I'll give it a try. I need to do things outside of my comfort zone." She gladly took Natsu's hand that he held out. She took it and gripped it tightly, the calluses and warmth of it bringing her comfort. Natsu gave her his megawatt grin.

"On three." When he finished counting they raced for the edge and jumped off of it together. As both of them resurfaced she saw Natsu was grinning at her and she had to smile back. The adrenaline rush was something she was quickly becoming addicted to. For those few moments flying through the air it felt free, like she was flying. The only thing she could think of was the anticipation of hitting the water. In the aftermath she could feel surges of confidence and she was giddy off of the adrenaline high.

"You're right. That was a lot more fun." Lucy looked around to see where everyone was. Wendy was sitting on the rocky ledge where their stuff was, kicking her feet in the water and talking with Evelyn who was floating on her back, eyes closed, and Gajeel who had pulled himself out of the water. Erza had swam over to the waterfall and was perched on a rock near the base of it. She shook her head at how Erza could deal with the rushing sound. Gray was standing on top of the rock that she had just jumped off of. She looked over to Natsu who had a mischievous glint in his eye that only meant bad news. He sank under the water and saw silently towards where Evelyn was floating. Lucy bit back a laugh as Natsu went underneath his sister and threw her over his shoulder.

"Natsu Dragneel I am going to murder you!" Evelyn yelled. He just laughed again as he tossed his sister gently into the water. "Oh you are on!" She started splashing him with water. "Lucy, come help me." Not being able to resist, Lucy started splashing Natsu as well.

"C'mon Luce, after all the fun we've had," he whined but he started attacking her just as aggressively. Like he did with Evelyn he scooped her up and tossed her into the water, gently but she was still submerged for a moment.

"Both of you _cut it out_ ," Erza called. Unfortunately, Evelyn had sank out of view and allowed Natsu's splash to hit Erza in the face.

"Fuck," was all he said before Erza started swimming towards him with a viciousness that could rival a shark on a hunt. She was so focused on Natsu, that she didn't notice Gray sneaking up behind her and pouncing on her back. She spluttered in anger. "Way to go Gray!"

"Gray Fullbuster you are _dead_." The seriousness in her voice made Gray reconsider his choice to side with Natsu.

"Shit."

"Language!" The two boys continued to swim away in terror. Gajeel laughed and jumped back into the water to help Erza chase down his cousin and Gray. When the four were finally worn out from swimming around they all pulled themselves onto the rocks and collapsed, faces flushed from laughing and activity.

"Childish," Gajeel muttered and eagerly dug all of the food that they had packed out of the bag. Lucy and Evelyn lit up when they saw a large thermos full of hot chocolate. Before they could grab it, Natsu snatched it first and poured it into a mug. He cackled with glee at the frustration on Evelyn's face. Gray elbowed him in the ribs, which shut him up momentarily.

"Where did the cats go?" Gray asked and everybody looked around.

"I wouldn't worry too much about it. They're somewhere close by. Happy's probably looking for a better fishing spot and the other two are there to make sure he behaves," Natsu said. Lucy laughed; he was probably right. Besides, it seemed like no one else was here and no one had been in here for a while. They lapsed into quiet conversation as everyone dug into their food. Lucy had zoned out and only came back to attention when she saw Natsu kick Gray, which sent him leaning into Erza, which caused Erza to drop her cake. Everyone went silent, looking at Erza in fear.

"Natsu. Gray."

"Fuck," Natsu and Gray said in unison before diving off of the rock into the water, going in two different directions, swimming as quickly as they could.

"Should we help them?" Wendy asked. Gajeel scoffed.

"We should be helping Erza so we don't piss her off." Wendy wisely opted to climb up the rocks and sat down at the ledge, watching the action from a place where Erza couldn't easily get to her. Lucy followed suit. Evelyn laughed and jumped in the water, tackling Erza from behind.

"Get away while you can Natsu!" his little sister called as she wrestled with Erza in the water. Natsu heeded her advice and scrambled up the rocks to join Wendy and Lucy, leaving Evie and Gray to deal with Erza. This continued for several more minutes before Gray and Evelyn were apologizing profusely, completely out of breath. Erza was yelling up at Natsu to apologize and he did. Throughout the chaos, they had missed Gajeel climbing up the rocks. Natsu greeted him but didn't seem to think much of it. When Gajeel shoved him off however, he swore violently before he was submerged in the water.

"Fuck you Gajeel!" Natsu shouted as he pushed his hair out of his face. "I thought we were cool."

"It's payback for being annoying this morning!" Natsu grumbled something under his breath.

"I think we should leave soon," Erza said and no one really argued. They had been out for what seemed like hours. Lucy and Wendy jumped off one more time and then swam to the rock. Natsu dragged Evelyn up the rocks one more time and jumped off together, shrieking wildly on their way down. Gajeel cracked a smile and jumped off one more time as well.

"Let's go find the cats," he said as everyone started getting their stuff together.

"100 jewels says that Happy got a stomachache and they're all at the car waiting for us," Evelyn suggested. Gray and Natsu eagerly agreed and shook on it.

"You three are unbelievable. You're profiting off of Happy's misery," Lucy lectured and Natsu shrugged.

"Wouldn't be the first time, won't be the last," was all he said as he put his hands behind his head. True to what Evelyn had said, the three Exceeds were lounging by the car. Happy was on his back Charle looked like she had given up lecturing him a while ago and was now talking with Lily.

"Did you have fun?" Lily asked and everyone grinned.

"Looks like you didn't though," Gray noted, slightly pissed that he had to pay Evelyn 100 jewels.

"You two owe me!" Evelyn crowed and Natsu and Gray glared at her.

"You bet on me?" Happy asked, fake tears collecting in his eyes. Natsu patted his friend's head.

"It's ok buddy, we'll get back and then you can sleep off all the fish you ate."

"Aye," Happy whimpered and let Natsu carry him back into the car. Natsu, Gajeel, and Wendy froze.

"Shit, do we have motion sickness medicine?" Gajeel asked and they all stared at each other.

"Fuck," Gray said as he rummaged through all of the compartments in the car. "No we don't." Everyone groaned as they realized they had to ride back with a sick Gajeel, Wendy, and Natsu. Evelyn grinned.

"I'm glad I don't have motion sickness," earning her a glare from the three cousins. She just laughed and with that the car started and they headed home.

When they reached home Natsu, Gajeel, and Wendy rolled out of the car onto the ground. They laid there in a pile. The sky had darkened and lights had lit up the exterior of the house. Erza held the door open while Gray helped Gajeel, Natsu had slung his arm around Lucy's shoulders, and Evelyn was helping Wendy into the house. Natsu sank down by the stairs and sat there, collecting himself. Wendy and Gajeel joined him.

"At least they didn't throw up," Evelyn pointed out cheerfully, earning her another glare. She laughed, kissed her brother's cheek and skipped up the stairs to her room. Erza had left them also, as had Gray. Gajeel had been the first one to pull himself together and had slowly made his way up the stairs. Natsu said that he was probably just going to sleep in what he was wearing. Wendy and Natsu stood up around the same time and Lucy followed them, ready to catch them if they were to fall.

Wendy walked into her room, bidding them good night.

"Thanks for everything today Natsu," Lucy said and Natsu grinned.

"You're welcome; I'm glad you had fun. See you in the morning Luce."

"Yeah, good night Natsu."

 **Your reviews give me life. See you guys later!**


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm so sorry I haven't posted more. I haven't really had the motivation to write for the past two weeks. I also got a leadership position for orientation for my school so I've been busy with that. But anyway, I had fun writing this chapter and I'm breaking this into two sections for no reason in particular. Your reviews give me life. Enjoy and I'm glad everyone is enjoying this story so much.**

Lucy woke up in the same manner she had woken up the day before. Yells from downstairs were echoing down the hall. She groaned and pulled her blanket over her head, wanting to get more sleep; she still felt exhausted from yesterday. Before she could fall asleep again, Erza's voice came over the intercom.

"Get up everyone. We're camping today and I want to leave early." Lucy glanced at the clock beside her bed and sighed. It was barely nine in the morning. Sunlight was streaming through the window, making her blink and rub her eyes. It was promising weather for camping. While she was still crawling out of bed Wendy came and poked her head in.

"If we don't hurry up Erza's going to be mad," was all she said before hurrying down the hall. The reminder of Erza's wrath had her moving faster. Gray, Natsu, and Gajeel were all yelling at each other, Erza was glaring daggers, while Evelyn and Wendy were peacefully eating waffles and ignoring the surrounding chaos.

"Good morning, Lucy!" Happy greeted her and she patted his head in greeting before whirling on Natsu and Gray.

"I could hear you upstairs in my room, without the intercom on!" None of them seemed perturbed by her frustration. No, instead Natsu just grinned at her and offered her a mug of hot chocolate as an apology. After she gratefully took the cup, she smacked his head which left Natsu pouting.

"I gave you hot chocolate!" he protested and Lucy shook her head as she took a sip. The hot chocolate chased away the chills that she had been feeling. She realized that she was cold in the first place because someone had the bright idea to open the windows and the back door. Erza's voice rose above the noise, as she yelled at all of them to shut up.

"Finish eating in ten minutes and then pack for camping. I want to be out of here in thirty minutes at the latest." There was surprisingly little bickering afterwards as they all rushed to be on time. Lucy scarfed down a wonderful breakfast of toast before she was herded out of the room by Natsu and Evelyn who promised she could eat more in the car. They ran to their respective rooms and Lucy threw everything she thought she would need in a bag and dragged it down the staircase. Much to her relief, she saw that there were still 15 minutes until Erza's deadline would be met. Unsurprisingly, Natsu and Gajeel were the last two people to come down, ten minutes later.

"Do we have the tents?" Erza asked, Gajeel confirmed that they did.

"Should we bring the ax?" Gray asked. Erza sighed and put her hand on her forehead in exasperation.

"Might as well, assuming you'll want s'mores later." Gray cheered and ran to retrieve the ax from the closet it was kept in. Erza cut his joy short when she simply plucked it out of his hands. Then she passed it off to Lucy. She squeaked when the ax was put in her hand but didn't want to argue. "Out to the car now so we can get there on time."

"What happens if your schedule gets screwed up because of traffic?" Gajeel grumbled as they all situated themselves in the car. Erza glared.

"Traffic will not stop us from reaching our destination on time," she declared and everyone else exchanged terrified looks but didn't dare to say anything. Yes the car was automatic but there was a steering wheel should the need arise for manual operation. The last time Lucy had seen it used was when they were being chased out of Era while they were still searching for Evelyn. Most of the bags had been put in compartments that were built into the floor. Lucy grabbed a waffle that had been brought in the car, sticking her tongue out when Lily and Happy had asked for it because they were hungry again.

"There's more food!" Evelyn said as the Exceeds continued to pester Lucy with pleas for her waffle. "Now can you please shut up?" The Exceeds continued to talk quietly to each other but no one said anything for a while. Then the fight over music started.

It started as it normally did with Gajeel turning on jazz. Natsu immediately asked him why he liked jazz "when you love metal so much?" As if to annoy Natsu further in retaliation he turned the volume up. Natsu hissed, like a cat, and switched the music to rock. Evelyn and Wendy seemed to drown it out and joined the Exceeds' conversation. Gray had actually taken Natsu's side and was actively trying to restrain Gajeel from changing the music back to jazz. Lucy watched with mostly annoyance but did find the situation amusing. Erza did not seem to think so. She looked like she was using all of her self-control to not strangle the three who were now wrestling on the floor of the car. Rock music was still blaring through the car. Happy was now cheering for Natsu while Lily was shouting encouragement at Gajeel. Charle simply sat back and looked at them disdainfully, shaking her head in disappointment.

"The next person who changes the music," Erza yelled, "is getting thrown out of the car!" Everyone paused and Evelyn put on pop music, which resulted in groans from all of the guys. Erza glared at Evie but she just smiled back innocently. "I'll allow it," Erza muttered. Gajeel pulled headphones out of a compartment in the car that Lucy hadn't noticed.

"You had headphones the entire time?" Lucy asked incredulously. "Seriously?" Natsu raised a fist but saw Erza's glare and backed down.

"Play a game with me Natsu," Evelyn said and held out the tablet that seemed to conveniently be around every time there was an argument of some sort on road trips. Natsu muttered something under his breath and slid next to Evelyn. Soon enough they were immersed in the game they were playing.

Everyone had mellowed out, the peace only broken when there was a bout of laughter from Evelyn or Natsu. Lucy pulled out a bag of food that Natsu had snuck into the car and started eating another waffle, briefly wishing she had syrup but she was happy to just eat something.

Lucy was relieved when they finally pulled onto a paved road that was lightly covered in dirt. The car was jostling around due to the uneven ground. "You might want to be careful Lucy," Gajeel said. "There are venomous snakes out here!"

"What?" Lucy squeaked and Gray delivered a punch to the side of Gajeel's head, ignoring the indentations he got on his fist from Gajeel's piercings,

"He's being an asshole, you don't have to worry about snakes." He paused for a moment. "There are spiders though." It was Natsu's turn to glare at Gray.

"Gray don't be an idiot! You don't have to worry about spiders. Bees and mosquitos are here though." Lucy breathed a sigh of relief.

"I think I can deal with those," Lucy said. It grew slightly darker as they drove under a canopy of trees.

"Don't pay attention to them Lucy," Charle said. "Most of the bugs don't come out this early in the year. They like warmer weather than this." Lucy nodded, relieved that she wouldn't have to deal with anything that could potentially kill her.

"There's a clearing around here that's used for camping. We've been going here for years so we know the area pretty well," Wendy explained.

"I wonder if the trail we marked last year will still be there," Erza mused as she looked out the window, as if she would be able to see it. "There's a small stream that runs near here also. Unfortunately all of the berries won't be in season so we can't eat them." When they pulled to a clearing the car shut off and they all got out. A wide space was laid out in front of them. There wasn't a lot of grass to cover the ground and as they walked over to the center of the clearing, Lucy could tell that her back would hurt the next morning from sleeping on the ground. Erza clapped her hands.

"Time to build the tents!" Everyone groaned and trudged to the car again and pulled out the tents from the floor of the car. Natsu tossed the bags they were in on the ground and left them there to poke around the perimeter of the area. He let out a whoop of excitement.

"The markings from the trail are here! We could go exploring again!" Natsu's excitement was infectious. Lucy felt herself looking forward to trekking through the woods and exploring.

"Just make sure that you don't fall into poison ivy again, dumbass," Gray called as he dumped the contents of one of the tent bags onto the ground.

"That was you idiot! Remember? And because of your damn stripping habit you had to soak in the stream for an hour."

"Then you kicked me out of your tent for 'precautions'," Gray reminded. Natsu glared as he went to one of the remaining two bags lying on the ground.

"Because I didn't need the entire damn tent contaminated with fucking poison ivy!"

"The sooner we get tents up the sooner we can explore," Wendy reminded and the two boys threw themselves into the work wholeheartedly. Lucy helped Erza, paying close attention to what Erza was doing. For the duration of the time they spent building tents, there was silence. Birds chirped in the trees and the leaves rustled in a soft, spring breeze. The air was cool, but not chilly, like winter was holding on but spring was slowly pushing it away. When the tents were up Natsu let out a whoop of excitement. He ran to the car and grabbed the ax and ran back to the clearing.

"Let's go cut firewood!" Natsu exclaimed. He made a beeline for the path that they had created and Gajeel and Gray chased after him. Lucy and Erza exchanged glances and a sigh.

"We need to go after them or they're going to kill each other," Lucy said and Erza nodded in agreement. "Will you two be ok by yourselves?" Evie waved her question away.

"We can take care of ourselves. We can find rocks to start a fire later." Erza approved of the idea and the two girls followed the guys' footsteps. They were following the shouting to guide them more than the footprints they left in the ground. Wx`hen they caught up with them what they saw was concerning. All three of them were holding the ax and pulling on it. Each of them wanted to use it and Lucy could imagine it flying back and cutting off one of their heads.

"Drop the axe!" Erza yelled. All three of them did because they were startled by the shout that broke the sereneness of the air. "I'll chop the firewood otherwise we'll be here all night waiting for one of you three idiots to decide who's going to cut the wood." Whining immediately followed her statement.

"But Erza—"

"We promise—"

Their voices all overlapped and Lucy yelled at them to shut up. They all quieted down and watched with disappointment as Erza chopped at the low-hanging branches on trees. Lucy could see the remorse and resentment that Erza had cut the firewood instead of them. Lucy sincerely hoped that they didn't do anything stupid to exact revenge.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys I'm back! This next school year I have a goal to write at least 1000 words a week so hopefully you'll have a consistent updating schedule. This chapter does have self-harm behavior I'll put *** where it starts and ends so you can skip it. This is the longest chapter in a while and I had fun writing it. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did. Enjoy!**

Of course, the boys did plan on getting revenge. Lucy didn't know how she could have thought otherwise. Everything up until the time they were going to sleep was fine. Erza had had the boys carry the firewood back to the campsite and it was unceremoniously dumped in a pile. "Glad to see nobody died," Wendy chirped.

"Did Erza commandeer the ax?" Evelyn asked and Lucy nodded her head.

"Yeah, she did. There was a three-way tug-of-war with the ax and one of them was going to end up decapitated," Lucy replied. Evelyn threw back her head and laughed. Charle shook her head in disapproval at the boys' behavior.

"Will they ever grow up?" Everyone laughed at the white Exceed's words. Natsu stretched. "I'm going to go and see how far the trail markers go and maybe create more trails. I'll come back later."

"Do you want us to go with you?" Happy asked.

"Nah, it'll go faster if I'm by myself. I won't be long."

When his back was turned and he was out of sight he let his face fall into a frown. Something about Charle's words had stung. Maybe it had been her tone of voice but Natsu didn't like the reminder that he had grown up too fast. He loved his childhood. Natsu wouldn't make it any different. Having Igneel teach him how to fight and seeing his cousins so frequently was fun and enjoyable. He had grown up in a supporting, loving family. When Igneel had disappeared Natsu had had to grow up quickly. For the first time he had truly experienced sadness on a scale which he didn't know was even possible at the time. Going to Fairy Tail, while one of the best decisions he had ever made, had opened his eyes to the ugliness and the brutality in the world. It made him reflect more about the fights he had been in. It was Fairy Tail's policy to not kill but sometimes that rule went ignored. Natsu thought of the people he had killed over the years and the only death he couldn't bring himself to feel guilty for was Mard Geer's.

He had been mindlessly following the trails until he reached a small clearing. Tears formed in his eyes and he aggressively punched a tree trunk. Natsu lost track of how long he had spent whaling on the tree but he figured it had been for at least ten minutes. His knuckles were ripped open, splinters were embedded in his skin and blood was dripping from the cuts and scratches he had given himself. He welcomed the sting of pain that came from his damaged hands. It made him feel something different than the sadness The bark on the trunk of the tree had been splintered and a layer was peeling away. Natsu sighed and moved to another tree. The more pain he felt the less he was able to ruminate on his past. He was so absorbed in what he was doing, in feeling the stings from his skin tearing open to notice Lucy approach him cautiously.

"Natsu." No reply. He was earnestly still tearing the tree apart. "Natsu," she tried again. Louder this time. He jerked like he was waking up from a dream.

"What's up Luce?" Lucy's eyes widened when she saw his hands. Blood, dirt, and bark were caked on his knuckles. Small fragments of bark and wood were embedded in his skin. Natsu winced when Lucy took his hands and straightened them out.

"This is going to be a mess to clean up," Lucy commented and Natsu broke eye contact with her by taking in a sudden interest in the tree he had just been punching.

"Sorry." His voice was low and had almost no emotion behind it. Lucy didn't know what to say and Natsu didn't seem inclined to talk about what he was feeling so they stayed silent. The only noise was that of the breeze rustling through the trees. Even the birds and insects had stopped making noise. "Why did you follow me?" He didn't sound angry which Lucy found relieving but hearing any emotion would have been preferable to the stoic and blank voice he was using now.

"I just had a feeling. You seemed different when you left." Natsu chuckled but there was no humor behind it.

"Did any of the others notice? Or was it just you?" Lucy hesitated on how to respond so she just settled for wrapping her arms around him and bringing him into a tight hug. His arms hung loosely at his sides but he let his forehead rest on her shoulder. When Lucy felt her sleeve become damp with tears she started stroking his hair. "You didn't answer my question. Did the others notice anything?"

Natsu felt Lucy's head move when she shook her head. "No. I don't think they know that much." She didn't have to explain what they didn't know much about. Natsu had already told her that after they dragged him back to Fairy Tail after Evelyn had gotten kidnapped they didn't think to keep an eye on him and how he was feeling. Natsu felt his shoulders relax slightly. He couldn't let them see him like this, sad and falling apart. Especially Evelyn. Slowly Natsu let his arms fall around Lucy's waist.

"When we head back, we'll just tell them that I had a bad fall." Lucy wasn't sure how she felt about Natsu hiding how he was feeling from everyone else but Natsu seemed adamant in keeping them in the dark so she wouldn't say anything. No matter how much it was killing her to see him struggle alone. It simply wasn't her story to tell so she would keep quiet and let Natsu heal and figure it out at his own pace.

"If we don't get back soon, they'll come looking for us," Lucy finally said after an undeterminable amount of time. All of the moments had blended together so she wasn't sure if they had been out here for hours or a mere twenty minutes. Natsu nodded his head and wiped the tear tracks off his face and inhaled.

"Yeah, let's get going. Besides, me, Gajeel, and Gray need to figure out how to get revenge on Erza." And just like that the big grin was back on his face and his dark eyes that had been dull and void of emotion had a mischievous glint in them. He grabbed Lucy's hand and dragged her along as he ran back down the paths to get to the camp. When they arrived Lucy was out of breath and Natsu was laughing.

"What happened to your hands?" Erza asked when she saw how cut up they were. Natsu just laughed and flushed.  
"I tripped over a rock and fell pretty hard." He rubbed the back of his neck with one of his hands. "I'll go bandage them up now." Erza's eyes narrowed and Lucy started to think that Erza didn't entirely believe him. Lucy saw him mutter something to Gray and Gajeel and they simply nodded in response. When Erza's back was turned Lucy noticed they flashed each other impish grins. Lucy shuddered to think about whatever they were going to come up w/ to get back at Erza for taking the joy of chopping wood from them. She saw Wendy also look concerned. Lucy wasn't sure what was going to be worse. Seeing the boys' ideas or seeing Erza react to it.

Turns out the idea for revenge had been to take the pillowcase off of Erza's pillow and fill it with pinecones, rocks, leaves, and pine needles. Lucy winced at imagining putting her head on that when she was about to go to sleep. When Erza had left with Evelyn, Wendy, and Charle to do some of their own exploring the boys had gotten to work. Happy had been the one to go and gather rocks and bring them back to the campsite. When Lucy had asked if any of the leaves had been poison ivy they all vigorously shook their heads. Gray had said he didn't want poison ivy again, if only because he couldn't sleep in the tent and he couldn't use his sleeping bag. To Lucy's surprise Gajeel had pointed out that they didn't have a death wish which Lucy highly doubted considering Erza was going to skin them alive when she found out. She later found out that they had hid her pillow in the car in the compartments built into the floor. Lucy had only shaken her head and said that she wasn't going to bail them out or try to resurrect them if they did in fact get murdered.

When they had gotten back, Natsu gathered some of the firewood that Erza had cut and tossed in three matches. "Don't you think you overdid it, Natsu?" Happy whined, seeing as he had to drop out of the air because a flame almost caught his wings on fire. Natsu just roared with laughter and stretched out in front of the fire on his sleeping bag.

"What did we bring to eat?" Gajeel asked and everyone grew solemn as they stared at each other with blank faces. "Did none of you bring food?"

"We brought things for s'mores," Happy piped up and Gajeel glared at the blue Exceed who whimpered and cowered behind Natsu.

"I don't see what's so bad about that," Wendy said with a smile.

"I can't live with only that shit to eat! I need something else," Gajeel argued. Natsu exaggerated a yawn and a stretch.

"Shut up tin can, it's fine. We could have no food."

"You're missing my point!"

"We could go to the stream to catch yummy fish!" Happy suggested and Gajeel grunted in agreement. Charle sniffed and shook her head in disagreement.

"That's not a bad idea. We've caught good fish at the stream before," Erza said and that basically dictated that they were going to fish whether they wanted to or not. Happy cheered and started to drag. Charle to where the stream was located. Everyone got up and followed them after retrieving some fishing poles from the car. Gray had insisted on getting them in case Erza saw her missing pillow. Natsu was grinning and Lucy could see a devilish smile on his face which made her automatically concerned.

The stream was located a few minute walk away. Lush green grass was on either side, and there were rocks littered along the edge where someone could sit. Larger rocks cropped up throughout the stream and white foam flew through the air whenever the water hit them. The water reflected the green from the trees above and the little light that passed through the canopy lit up the stream in small patches. Everyone settled along the banks. Trying to hold back snickers Natsu crept up behind Gray and shoved him into the stream. The stream wasn't deep, maybe six feet at most, but Gray landed face-first which made Natsu howl with laughter. When Gray's head resurfaced he spat out river water and was glaring daggers at Natsu who was now trying to look innocent and failing miserably.

"You're fucking dead!" Gray grabbed Natsu's ankle and yanked him in, causing Natsu's head to hit the ground.

"Watch it droopy eyes!" Before they could try to drown each other Erza and Gajeel were pulling Gray and Natsu out of the water, placing them on opposite sides of the stream.

"Now you scared away all the fishies," Happy complained. Erza glared at them as well.

"If we don't get food tonight I'm blaming it on you two." Gray picked that moment to strip off his shirt which lead to Gajeel hitting him on the head.

"I'm surprised he hasn't stripped sooner," Wendy muttered quietly. Gajeel and Natsu heard her loud and clear and burst out laughing. Lucy, who was sitting next to her started laughing as well.

"I only took it off so it can dry," Gray protested but nobody really believed him.

Half an hour later, they had caught three fish and Erza deemed it enough so they walked back to camp. The sun was starting to set, streaks of pink breaking up the light blue sky. To Lucy's surprise the fire hadn't gone out yet but Natsu said it had grown weaker so he threw in two more matches. Gajeel went to the car and rummaged through his stuff and came back with a pocketknife and handed it to Erza so she could take the scales off so it could cook. Happy was whining the entire time about how cooking the fish was ruining them but Lily had scolded him. When he reminded Happy that people could get sick from uncooked fish Happy didn't complain _as much_ as he had been.

The sky was completely dark when they had finished eating the fish and when they had eaten enough s'mores for everyone to be sick to their stomachs. Natsu and Gajeel were fine but everyone else would be complaining of stomach aches for the rest of the night. As the time approached for everyone to go to bed, the boys started pushing each other and hiding laughter behind their hands. They had scampered into their tents before Erza went into her own. They flipped the zippers so only the people inside the tent could undo them and pushed their bags directly behind the entrance. At the last minute Gajeel Velcro-ed the fabric over the mesh windows. They did their traditional yelling at each other about who could sleep where before they settled down for the night. While they rested their, eyes shut but still wide awake, waiting for Erza to discover the prank they had pulled. They heard Erza screech followed by a string of swearing. Natsu had to bury his face into his pillow so his laughter wouldn't leave the tent. In the darkness he could see Gray and Gajeel shaking with restrained laughter.

"The three of you are fucking dead!" Natsu couldn't hold back his laughter anymore and it floated through the tents and into the open. With their enhanced hearing, Gajeel and Natsu were able to pick up on Lucy, Wendy, and Evelyn suppressing their laughter was well. Happy was snickering while Lily was shaking his head with a grin on his face. Natsu had the distinct feeling that Charle was shaking her head also, but out of disappointment and disapproval. "Get out that tent right now!"

"Erza can't it wait until the morning? I'm tired." Natsu silently promised to buy his little sister all the clothes and makeup she wanted the next time she went shopping. He swore when Erza refused and heard her walk to stand right outside their tent. In the remnants of the firelight Natsu could see her silhouette.

"Which one of you three did this?" she demanded. Natsu gave a gleeful cackle.

"If I'm going down with this, you two are also! It was a group effort," Natsu answered. If it had been a cartoon Natsu was sure Erza would have a bright red face, smoke coming out of her ears, and several tick marks around her face.

"Erza please." It was Lucy this time and Erza sighed.

"You three are _not_ getting away with this," she threatened and pent up breaths were released when Natsu saw her retreating figure. Somehow they couldn't bring themselves to regret what they had done. "Please tell me you still have my actual pillow."

"In the car under the left side of the floor," Gray called. They heard a car door open and slam shut. Natsu fell asleep with a grin on his face, the wave of emotions he had felt earlier almost a distant memory.

The next morning Lucy woke up to yelps and pleas for mercy. She crawled out of the tent to see Gajeel, Gray, and Natsu laying on the ground covered in bruises. "Now do you have something to say?" Lucy was reminded of her tutors when she would mouth off to them and they had made her feel guilty enough to get her to apologize even if she didn't want to. She shivered at the memory. Lucy made eye contact with Natsu, who was grinning like a madman, and his expression became softer.

"Sorry Erza," they all chanted like it had been something they had repeated so much it was more a habit than anything else. Lucy knew that they didn't feel remorse for anything they did. Evelyn yawned and sat down next to her. Natsu's little sister touched her shoulder.

"Are you ok?" Lucy managed a smile and a nod.

"Yeah, just memories." A few months ago, Evelyn wouldn't have spared her a glance but recently, especially since the fight with Tartaros Evie had opened up. There were still moments when Lucy would make a certain expression or say something that would make Evelyn tense up, clearly resembling something her father had said or done when Evelyn was held captive in the mansion basement. It would follow with a profuse apology from Lucy. Lucy's habit to apologize when something like that happened made Evelyn feel more comfortable with her presence. The fact that Lucy was so remorseful for doing anything that triggered memories for Evelyn made the younger girl take a stronger liking to Lucy. That and they could bond over what an asshole Lucy's father was.

Erza clapped her hands. "I want everything taken down and loaded into the car in twenty minutes." There was a collective groan before they all scrambled to comply with Erza's orders. Especially the boys. All three of them were covered in bruises.

When they got back to the house Lucy instantly collapsed onto a couch and fell asleep. Natsu smiled gently and brushed hair out of her face. He would tell her how why he had a breakdown the day before at a later time. He didn't want to ruin her time here with heavy emotions.

 **Your reviews give me life. See you later!**


	5. Chapter 5

**I'm really cutting it close with my one chapter by the end of the month. Organic chemistry has been kicking my ass and taking up a lot of my time. I feel like the end of this chapter is rushed but I hope all of you still like it! I hope yall enjoy!**

On the way back to the house last night, Erza had announced that they were going to spend a day relaxing and then they were heading back to Magnolia. There were groans of dissent but Erza wasn't taking no for an answer. "We have been away long enough. We need to check on those that are injured and help rebuild Magnolia."

"But Gramps said he'd pay for all the damages because they were theoretically not our fault," Gray objected.

"Be that as it may," Erza countered, "it would look bad if we did nothing to help." Natsu grumbled and Evelyn had hit his head.

"She's right. It would be good for publicity if they saw you helping clean up and rebuild," she reasoned. Natsu had rolled his head in response and let it lean against the back of the seat, his dark eyes closed.

"Fuck this," he muttered.

"Waffles are ready!" Wendy's cheerful voice through the intercom was what woke Lucy up.

"Give us a damn minute Wendy," Natsu whined through the intercom. Lucy decided that because of all the yelling over the intercom she was looking forward to going back to Natsu's house. Living without Gray or Erza would be welcome.

"Natsu, shut up!" Evelyn chimed in and Lucy buried her head under her pillow. Lucy heard her door open and felt something gently tug at her blankets.

"Get up Lucy!" Happy said. Lucy lazily swatted at him.

"It's too early," she complained. "Why is everyone so noisy?"

"Because there are waffles!" Lucy groaned and half-heartedly swiped at him. Happy zoomed out of the room cackling and she heard him badgering Evelyn to get out of bed. Lucy looked out her door and saw Evelyn trudging through the hallway, her blanket draped around her shoulders, the edges dragging on the floor. She stopped and smiled at Lucy through the doorway.

"Ready to get up?" There was a wry tone to her voice that made Lucy laugh. "Although if we don't Erza's probably going to get pissed."

"She can wait."

"I'll join you." Without an invitation Evelyn made her way through the room and flopped down on Lucy's bed. Lucy noticed that that was a pattern with Natsu, Evelyn, and Happy: they typically didn't wait for anyone to invite them in. Even if Lucy was mad or annoyed, Natsu just made his way into the room as if he owned the place. Which he admittedly did, but still. It was the thought that counted. "I don't want to head back tomorrow. Gramps is letting us use this place for as long we want but Erza just _has_ to get back otherwise apparently all of Magnolia will go up in flames." Evelyn's frustration and annoyance was tangible. Lucy felt the same way to a lesser extent. She did miss the others but she could see why Evelyn wouldn't want to head back yet. Being in this house was, believe it or not, relatively peaceful. And being away from the crowds and noise of Magnolia was refreshing. Natsu's house may have been in the country but they spent the majority of their time downtown. Natsu had said that Lucy didn't have to stay with him all the time but she still didn't like being alone in a large house. Even if her situation was completely different than it had been several months before, it still gave her a sense of loneliness and isolation. She hoped that within a few more months the cold, desolate feeling of being alone would finally fade.

"Can I braid your hair?"

"Um, sure." The question was out of the blue and Evelyn made a gesture for Lucy to turn around, which she did. Evelyn grabbed a brush that had been resting on Lucy's night table and started running it through her hair. Whenever Lucy winced when she tugged on a knot Evelyn apologized and tried to be more gentle. They were sitting together quietly, and Evelyn was almost finished when something hit the bed and drenched it in water.

" Natsu Dragneel, what the fuck?" Evelyn yelled. She took the hairbrush that was lying on the bed and threw it directly at his face.

"What was that for Evie?" he whined rubbing his eye where the hairbrush had hit him.

"For fucking throwing water balloons at us moron! Lucy's braid was almost done!"

"I can get it on my own now Evie. Thank you, though." She turned to Natsu, "where did you get the water balloons?" His face closed down immediately.

"Why do you want to know?"

"Just curious. I need to grab food, I'm hungry." And with that she made her way out of the room leaving the siblings standing in the doorway. She felt something pelt her back and felt her shirt get wet.

"Natsu Dragneel!" she shrieked. She sprinted downstairs to where the sink was filled with water balloons. Wendy was filling them up before dropping them in the sink. "I need a few water balloons."

"Did Natsu hit you?" Gray asked. Unsurprisingly, his shirt was nowhere to be found.

"Yes," Lucy huffed. " I want to get him back."

"He should be coming back down soon, so we can get him together. Just hide behind a wall." Lucy nodded and they hid on opposite sides of the hall. Natsu's loud voice preceded him and they heard Evelyn's shrieks and laughter echoing down the hall. As Natsu just passed them they launched their water balloons at him.

"Freezerburn! Lucy how could you do this to me?"

"I could do this to you since you attacked me!"

"Will all of ya shut the fuck up?"

"Good morning Gajeel," Wendy chirped as she put more water balloons in the sink to make up for the dozen that everyone had just taken.

"Give me some of these kid." Wendy stepped aside and Gajeel grabbed five water balloons. His eyes roved over all of them before settling his gaze on Natsu. As Natsu got ready to throw a water balloon at Gajeel, one had already hit his chest.

"You bastard!" Natsu lunged and tackled his cousin to the ground. Lucy winced as water balloon popped in front of Natsu's eyes. It was at this point Erza made an appearance. At that point, everyone was armed with water balloons and were happily throwing them at each other and becoming breathless from laughter.

"What is happening?" Erza roared and everyone stopped and stared at each other in horror. "Makarov let us use his house and this is how you repay him?"

"What? The most that could happen is water damage," Natsu shrugged before Erza grabbed a water balloon and threw it at his face.

"You're missing the point!" Evelyn rolled her eyes.

"Erza, don't you remember the time three years ago when Gajeel flooded the hot tub at the Mount Hakobe house? Gramps didn't get mad at us then." Evelyn paused when Erza raised an eyebrow, "ok maybe a little bit," she amended, "but this is a million times less water than that." Erza sighed.

"You're right Evie. I'm sorry I overreacted. Now with that being said," she walked over to the sink and grabbed some balloons, "which one of you is going to die first?" Everyone shrieked. The Exceeds were up in the air, raining water balloons down without a care and without worry. Happy was cackling maniacally. Lily was joining Happy in creating as much mischief as possible. Charle was casually hovering in the air observing the chaos being created around her.

The fun and games stopped when they heard the sound of shattering glass. They all looked at each other as alarms started blaring. "There aren't any attackers," Charle had to practically had to shout above the alarms. Erza went over to a panel on the wall that hadn't been there before. She let it scan her eyes and she tapped in a code to override the system.

"Which one of you morons broke the glass?" she yelled after the wailing ceased and their ears stopped ringing. They all pointed towards Gajeel.

"How do you know it was me?"

"Because you're lookin' shifty," was all Natsu said as he threw Evelyn over his shoulder and spun around in a circle.

"Well if you're so innocent than why are you avoiding eye contact?" Gajeel retorted.

"I'm not!" He stopped spinning around long enough to look Erza in the eye and grin broadly. "See?" He immediately resumed swinging his sister around, who was laughing so hard she had tears streaming down her cheeks and she was pounding her fists on Natsu's back.

"Put me down Natsu!"

"No chance in hell, Evie!"

"Goddamn it Natsu!" But she was laughing. "Why are you like this?" Natsu just laughed in response. When she couldn't laugh anymore, from exhaustion Natsu set her down gently and ruffled her hair. Both of their faces were flushed red and they collapsed against each other. Evelyn screamed when Gajeel took the, now empty, bucket of water balloons and dumped the remaining water over their heads.

"What the fuck Gajeel?" Happy was sniggering into his paws and Lily had a smirk on his face. Charle only shook her head and rolled her eyes. With a screech Evelyn launched herself at her cousin and they tumbled across the floor.

"Is anyone going to stop them?" Wendy asked, looking with concern at her cousins.

"No, let them figure this out for themselves," Charle admonished. "Honestly."

"Erza?" Wendy turned to see what her reaction would be. Erza shrugged.

"I agree with Charle on this one." Wendy bit her lip.

It was only after Evie had given Gajeel a black eye that Natsu and Gray interfered. Natsu picked up Evelyn and Gray held Gajeel back. Natsu was laughing though so clearly he didn't take it too seriously. "Ok guys, that's enough," Gray said with a small laugh.

"Let's go swimming instead!" Lucy suggested. Wendy and Evelyn nodded aggressively and the girls all ran back to their rooms to get changed. The guys just shrugged off their shirts and ran outside. Natsu let out a whoop as he ran down the stone steps and took a flying leap off the second step like he did the first night they were there.

They all paused when they heard the doorbell ring courtesy of the security system. "Who the fuck could it be?" Natsu asked when he popped up from the water. "The house didn't go into lockdown so I'm assuming it's nobody dangerous."

"Hey guys!" Sting yelled as he walked down towards the pool.

"Who the fuck invited you?" Gajeel asked .

"Evie did," Rogue answered. "She invited us last night." Natsu swore under his breath.

"I'll have to talk to her about that," Natsu sighed. "Wait who let you in to the house?"

"Erza did," Rogue answered again. The door flew open and they heard Evie screech.

"Sting!" Evie yelled as she flew down the hill toward Sting, who caught her in a huge hug. Natsu huffed and crossed his arms with a pout on his face. Lucy elbowed him as she sank into the water.

"Don't look like that," she scolded. "There's nothing wrong with her missing him." Natsu's expression didn't change. He just continued glaring at his cousin. When Sting put Evelyn down, Rogue ruffled her hair.

"I'm her brother."

"Yes, and you see each other almost every day. She can give her attention to someone else besides you." Evie and Sting erupted into laughter when she pushed Rogue into the pool. Natsu and Gajeel started laughing also. Rogue spit out water and rubbed his eyes when he resurfaced.

"C'mon, you have to admit that was funny," Sting said. Rogue just glared and Sting backed off although he was still snickering.

"Good to see you again Lucy," Sting nodded and Lucy returned the greeting with a smile.

"I hope you've been able to relax since our fight with Tartaros."

"Yeah, things have been pretty quiet recently. I'm not expecting it to last though." Wendy and Erza had exited the house in time to hear Sting's statement.

"Well we can worry about that later," Wendy said as she pulled her hair into a ponytail.

"Yes, right now is just for relaxing and having fun," Erza agreed. "I was thinking of a barbeque tonight?"

"Fuck yes!" Natsu yelled. He scrambled out of the pool and hoisted himself onto the platform over the pool. "The gasoline is still here!"

"Great," Rogue muttered. "The thing is going to catch on fire again." Natsu stuck out his tongue.

"Don't any of you trust me?"

"No," everyone replied in unison. They watched in concern as he doused the firewood with gasoline and tossed in a match while cackling like a madman.

"Let me do the barbeque," Erza said. "The food will end up burnt otherwise." Natsu opened his mouth to argue but he seemed to think otherwise and shut his mouth.

The rest of the night continued in a blur of laughter, good food, and swimming. A lot of Natsu, Evie, and their cousins pushing each other in. According to Gray it was a ritual they had of pushing each other in until one got pissed off. Rogue was the one who seemed to get angry but it blew over relatively quickly, When the last vestiges of the sunset were fading away everyone headed back inside wrapped in towels. Everyone, except for Evelyn, were hanging out in the living room, continuing the conversations that had been happening outside. They all jumped when they heard sirens as the house began to go into lockdown mode. Evelyn came scrambling into the room, looking stressed.

"I'm so sorry! My shoe hit the window in my room and then the alarm went off!"

"Your shoe hit the window?" Charle asked for clarification.

"I was looking for something in my room and I threw my shoe behind me and it hit the window." Natsu grumbled something unintelligible and went to a panel on the wall to turn it off.

"I think it's time to go to bed," Erza said after the alarm was dealt with. Everyone agreed and went their separate ways.

"Wait are you fuckers staying the night?" Gray asked Sting and Rogue. The cousins looked at each other and nodded.

"Yeah," they said in unison.

"Great. Well you two are sleeping on the couch."

"We're not like you Gray. We don't care where we sleep," Sting said and instantly collapsed on one of the black leather couches. "Good night guys."

Evelyn kissed both of them on the cheek and skipped up to bed. Wendy followed suit and they all went upstairs in a group.

Like the previous days Lucy woke up to yelling and the smell of smoke. "Eat quickly," Erza's commanding voice came over the intercom. "I want to leave here in 45 minutes to head back." Lucy scrambled out of bed and threw everything in her suitcase. When Lucy came down, dressed and packed, three stacks of waffles were on the kitchen counter and Natsu and Evie were contentedly munching on burnt bacon. Lucy wrinkled her nose at the smell and helped herself to a waffle and drenched it in whipped cream. Everyone ate quickly and they were outside in half an hour. Sting and Rogue were sent off with hugs and high fives.

The ride back was chaotic as always. But Lucy gave a small sigh of disappointment when they finally rolled back into Natsu's garage after dropping everyone off. "Thank you for this," Lucy said as they walked in, Evelyn had already left them, letting Natsu carry all of their bags in. Natsu shrugged.

"You don't have to thank me for anything. It was Gramps that let us use the house."

"Yeah but thank you anyway." Natsu smiled and pulled Lucy into a side-hug.

"You're welcome."

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